Last week, WhatsApp announced that it will be sharing certain amounts of user data with parent company Facebook. This naturally got some people worried, and saw alternative messaging apps rise in popularity. But now, the messaging service has a new FAQ page addressing concerns regarding the change in its privacy policy.
In it, WhatsApp says that this sharing of data only applies when you interact with a business on its platform. And more specifically, only businesses that use Facebook’s hosting services. Messages that pass through the service, be they via WhatsApp or other channels, will be visible. This information can then be used to send you personalised ads on Facebook. The company says your chats with these applicable businesses will be clearly labelled.
Beyond that, the company makes its usual assurances that your private chats will remain so. This ranges from your messages or calls, to specific individuals or groups. And it also applies to shared locations. WhatsApp also reassures that it doesn’t keep logs of these conversations, nor does it share them or your contacts with Facebook.
Beyond explaining that the data sharing applies only specifically when interacting with certain businesses, nothing is really new. You can take a look for it yourself in the WhatsApp FAQ page in question, linked below.
(Source: WhatsApp)
